The Lost House
by Nastark
Summary: [This is with Ships. Ship-free will be out soon] Ruby had always loved stories of heroes and monsters from the books. Fantasies with dragons, knights, warriors and kingdoms. She wanted to be just like those heroes in the books, who fight for what's right and protect people who couldn't protect themselves. But in Westeros, that is a difficult feat. Could she stay true to her ideals?
1. Prologue: The Legend of The Cave

Author's Note: Hello. I'd rather note babble on thingamajigs, so I'll get right on what I need to say.

There will be two versions of this story, one with character pairing and one that sticks to the canon pairings.

This story is with ships, alright? No, not the wooden ships that float over the sea (a.k.a poison water for Dothraki). I mean character pairing shippings. Actually. not ship _s_ , but ship, only one. That would be Jon x Ruby. Originally, I wasn't going to do this, but it just sorta happened while writing the timeline for this. But don't worry, I'll make another version of the same story that will stick to _friend_ ships instead, for all those who don't ship it. Also, this won't be a main thing, just like a side effect of the main plot. It's not going to be an instant thing either. Consequently it means that Jon would still fall for his other canon love interests. But— You know what? I think I'd rather you read, than I tell, you'll find out soon enough, and I think I _'_ ve spoiled enough.

Also, if you're going to wait for the Ship-free one, you can go ahead and read this chapter, it will practically be the same as the alternate version, the changes start at chapter two, and this is just the prologue.

One more thing. I have read through pages and pages of Wikia and watched and re-watched scenes, but if I get any lore or whatever wrong, feel free to tell me so I can change it. That also goes with my writing for improvement.

Now, without further ado. . .

* * *

 **PROLOGUE: THE LEGEND OF THE CAVE**

* * *

"Is it here?"  
"Aye, it's here."

Two men stood before the mouth of a cave.

"You sure?"

The other man had an aged face, lines etched across his head from worry, anger or maybe stress. "As sure as I can possibly be about this place."

"And that means you're not sure at all?" The other man was a thin man, cheekbones visible under skin with an accompanying strands of mustache that made him look like a rat.

"Rumors are rumors until we prove them true."

The thin one snorted. "Rumors. Are the' still considered rumors a'ter being thousands of years old?"

"Legends then." The old one answered simply.

"D'you reckon we'd find an'thin' here?" He looked inside of the opening. It wasn't a big cave, quite small actually. You would easily pass it without giving it a glance.

"No."

His son-in-law looked at him with an incredulous expression.

"Why even bot'er comin' 'ere then?"

The older man returned the gaze with an expression that said 'Why not?'.

"We found something that is incredibly similar to the cave in the legend. A cave that was said to have crystals and gems that light up even in the dark." He said bluntly, "I believe it's worth a shot to see."

The older man bent down and started working on a makeshift torch. The younger one watched in silence.  
Were they seriously going in there? Anything could be hiding in the darkness. Possibly and most likely prepared to murder them.  
He broke that train of thought, deciding that if they were going in there either way, it would be better if he wasn't shaking in his boots. He distracted himself with another question that came with the legend, connecting it with another one.

"If those turn ou' to be real. D'you think _they're_ real too?"

"Maybe or maybe not." The older man replied, stood up, readied torch in hand. "Sometimes only one of two connected legends are true."

He wasted no time and went in the mouth of the cave. His son followed suit, speeding up a bit behind him.

"If they're real, where d'you think 'hey are?"

The old man huffed, turning on his daughter's husband, annoyance clear in his face. "Don't you ever shut up?"

"I-"

"You know what, just shut your pie hole." He turned walking further down the opening. Darkness started to dominate more. "And if they are real, where d'ya think they are now? Highly doubt people that powerful would go unnoticed in Westeros."

The man said nothing as he followed his father-by-marriage further down, not wanting to be left in the darkness that he was completely sure the older man would do if he's not quick enough.

But a question still plagued his mind.

If by any chance they _are_ real, where are they now?

* * *

"Hyaaaa!"

Normally, birds would have flown out of trees, away to nowhere in particular as long as it's away from the murder zone. In short, somewhere safe. But they were long gone by now. They had flew as the first shot rang around their place, and it had been a while since that was fired.

Ruby retracted her blade from the shattered armor of the Nevermore, finishing up the last one. She watched with satisfaction as the body started to smoke as it evaporated. Looking up to examine her surrounding, dead bodies of the Grimm birds lay scattered around her, all in different phases of vanishing.

That seems about it. What's left was to head back to Haven and collect her pay. But first she had to make sure. After all, sometimes, some Grimm are left alive after the altercation. And the next time these surviving Grimm are spotted, they are more power. Sometimes to an incredibly huge degree.

Closing her eyes, she let let her Aura scan here surroundings, stretching over the trees and plants, noting the absence of wildlife. As usual, whatever animals that lived here had temporarily evacuated. They'll probably come back later. Well, they would if Ruby hadn't accidentally knocked down their home in the process.

She mumbled a small apology, knowing that would probably do nothing to restore their homes, nor could they understand it, but it did make her feel better. In hindsight, that apology was a bit selfish seeing as it was relieve her feelings of guilt.

Home. . .

As much as she wants to, she can't come back now. Or at least now. But part of her fears that maybe not ever.

Not when there's a target painted across her back for Salem's people to look out for, and from what she had seen her people weren't like any grunt or member of the White Fang that she take care of easily. She had seen what they had managed to do to her Uncle Qrow when he wouldn't let them take her, the remain of Team JNPR did too, and they would still refuse to let them just take her. And she was sure as heck that her father and sister wouldn't give her up without a fight.

 _There._

She sensed two things at almost the same time.

'One' was a leftover Grimm. A Nevemore, probably. A small one, she assumes it's slightly bigger than a crow.

'Two' was a more peculiar thing. A feeling of contained power threatening to burst. It only needed a little twitch of Aura. A little twitch of power. _Dust._ But what this one so strange is that she had never felt Dust like this before.

Carefully noting where the little Grimm was, she made her way over to the strange object.

Grass made a crunching sound under her feet as she walked towards the treeline.

As she expected, the Grimm followed her, keeping itself well-hidden in the little shadows it has left to hide in during the blazing sun of noon. It probably used it's size, or the lack of it to quickly and swiftly dash from one dark spot to another. Stalking her like a predator watching prey. It wasn't much of a threat, if anything it made it more convenient for Ruby that she doesn't have to chase after it anymore.

She felt the strange Dust come closer as she got deeper into he woods, the Grimm not far behind.

She let her thoughts wander a bit from there.

Her uncle Qrow was currently recovering. They share a room back in Haven. Though, she wouldn't be surprised if she got back and her uncle was gone from the bed, and it will certainly not be a surprise if she finds him in a bar. Although she prefers that he wouldn't move around so much, the thought was a comforting one. It would be a solid reminder that her uncle Qrow was still. . . Well, uncle Qrow, the uncle that's always drunk but always sober enough to make good decisions. Or at least, decisions that he still would have made if he was not drunk. Speaking of which, sometimes she had wondered whether a Grimm would become drunk if it manages to accidentally consume some of her uncle's blood. _If_ it manages to do that, which seems a bit like a long shot. She had also wondered whether her uncle would burst into flames if an open wound of his was exposed to fire. And she had certainly wondered how much of his Aura is used to keep his kidney healthy.

* * *

In a cave somewhere, two men argued.

"I'm tellin' yah. Not'in's 'ere." the younger one complained.

"I also think so, but we won't really know for sure unless we look now, would we?" The older man retaliated. "Stop being such a whiny bitch. Move those legs. The quicker we are, the sooner we're getting out of here."

"But we've been walking for half an hour now, and we still 'aven't found a'nthing." The younger one said as if the older one hasn't realized that.

"Half an hour is barely that much time." The older one huffed. "And if you don't move quicker, I'm leaving you in the dark."

He turned a corner, moving in a quicker pace, clearly keen on leaving his daughter's husband behind.

" 'Old on. Wait for me!"

* * *

Ruby stopped abruptly as she felt the Dust go right past her. The Grimm also stopped.

She took a few brisk steps backwards, and after feeling it pass by her, she walked forwards, then backwards again until she was sure it was right next to her.

She turned to face the trunk of a tree, a trunk with marks and scars here and there, earned in withstanding against many odds across time. Placing her palm on it, the surface was uneven under her touch. A power lay hidden within it. Captured, concentrated so much it solidified.

She ran her fingers against the rough bark, tracing the power, following it, until she found herself on the other side of the tree.

Her hand stopped on something. . . smoother. With valleys cutting deeper and more precise with smooth edges, it felt like something that someone made to be there and not just something that was a side-effect of something else. Around her hand, there were pointed shapes of triangles made from part of the bark carved off. She raised her hand for a better look.

It didn't look like much. It just looked like part of a tree where the darker outermost part have come off, revealing a lighter shade inside it. Dirt had pushed itself in its edges, like they would underneath your nail, and also stuck everywhere else, making it look as if it still had the rougher exterior. But the defined lines and similar depth said otherwise, so Ruby looked closer and tried to visualize just what shape they made.

Oddly enough, it looked like her own emblem at first glance. . .

Pfft, nah. Probably not.

But the more she mentally traced a line on the edges, the more familiar it became. She connected the final lines and finished the drawing, and sure enough. It looked like it. No, that would be an understatement. It looked _exactly_ like it.

She felt her jaw slacken.

"What?" she mumbled a bit under her breath.

That couldn't be right, so she tried to forget the image and retrace it again. But every time she looked at it, it became clearer and clearer. It's like looking at an optical illusion where there are two images in one. Once you see the other, it's hard to stop seeing it. Or when somebody tells you that they misheard the lyrics of a certain song, then you start to actually hear the song say the misheard lyrics, even though it really wasn't.

She ran her fingers over the rather smoother parts of it, dust and dirt collected at the tips. Her movement stopped as she noticed a change in the portion that got wiped.

A lighter color, way lighter than the brown dirt of the bark. _Way lighter_. She pulled her cloak from behind her. To heck with hygiene. She wrapped the cloth over her index finger then spat at it, proceeding to rub it over. The dirt spread and smeared at first, but cleared.

The motion slowed as the brown came off, revealing a metallic color on a smooth surface Somewhere in the back of her head, a voiced called out "Silver!". She quickened again to finish cleaning the rest. And like the mental imagery that she couldn't stop seeing, it truly was that emblem. _Her emblem. Their_ emblem.

What was this?

Never had she ever ran into her mark anywhere, or even see it anywhere other than her mother and herself. Ruby had considered more than once that the mark went beyond herself and her mother, but seeing it right before her here. . . Well, it's either her mom placed it there or it was like that was before she did. Either way, her uncle Qrow had a lot more explaining to do once he gets better. Well, assuming that he even knows anything about this. But it's her uncle Qrow. Who knows the length of the secrets he knows?

* * *

"T'is is a waste o' time."

"That's it!" The older man whirled towards the less enthusiastic one. Yes they had been walking for some time, and in that time he had heard nothing but complaints and whining. If were to choose between company like this or no company at all, he would choose silence. "Fuck you and your fear of the dark! Wander in the darkness, see if I care!"

Wasting no time, he stalked forward.

"Wa-wait!"

As if some powerful deity meant it, the younger man tripped over uneven ground, landing on his face. His face stung but that mattered less to him right now. Ignoring the stinging, he looked up to try and convince the older man not to leave his grasping in the dark, most possibly beg at his feet. Pride be damned, he'd rather face humiliation than be mauled. Who knows what lurks in the dark, waiting for it's opportunity to sink its jaws on his neck? But the only thing he managed to catch when he looked up was the last bits of light disappear down a turn. And soon, he was engulfed in darkness.

* * *

It almost felt like it was calling to Ruby. Calling to her touch now that there was no dirt to separate them. And she complied, reaching out to it.

It felt like a weapon. Not in a way that you can use it to slash and hack, but in a fashion where you just feel that you are meant to use your Aura on it. And it called to her. Called to her soul, calling to her power. As much as a clutz as she is, she would have let her Aura on it, but she would rather go through a list of pros and cons of what might happen. Pros, she would find out what it does. Cons, what it does may cause some serious damage.

"SQUAK!"

Oh right, that was still there, she thought passively.

Her Aura pulsed in reflex, covering herself and turning items into weapons at the touch.

* * *

"Shi'ty old man." He grumbled under his breath. Hi hand rested against the walls of the cave, using it to guide himself while he walked. Luckily for him, there was no sudden movements so far or breathing sound or any other sounds than the ones he made. He was already jumpy enough-

He touched something. Something _warm_.

"AIEE!"

* * *

Two things happened at once, in two different places.

Whipping her head behind her, Beowolves seemed to be suspended midair, claws extended, arms outstretched, aiming at her, but before she could make a move for counter attack, a bright light flashed right behind her, engulfing them in blinding bright.

* * *

The man stumbled backwards, falling on his back. He ignored the pain that shot up, and scrambled away from where he was earlier. He had no idea where he was heading, but as long as it was away from whatever that was, he was good with it.

* * *

She shut her eyes, and pulled Crescent Rose at the ready.

Her other senses went high on alert. She used her Aura, directing it towards the Grimm, keeping track of them to make sure they wouldn't gain on her.

She felt herself start to sink, like she was on a soft pile of mud, minus the squishy mud under her feet. What's more is that she felt as if her Semblance was in effect, moving her, yet not at the same time.

* * *

His back hit the opposite cavern wall. The jagged parts pressed against him, but he ignored it as pushed himself harder towards it. It may sound stupid but maybe if he sticks enough to it, whatever bear or what that is, may not see him.

* * *

She descended slowly, the quicker. Ruby scrambled her feet, trying to gain footing or some balance, but the ground seemed to be gone altogether.

* * *

His heart hammered against his ribs. He mentally willed it hush, fearing that the beast may hear it.

* * *

She was falling. Or at least it felt like that. But at the same time, she felt like she did when she used her Semblance, like she had burst into rose petals. It felt like both of those at the same time. It was confusing but not entirely unpleasant.

* * *

The older man huffed in annoyance after hearing the "definitely man-like" scream up where he came from. Do men even scream? Or do they just yell? Seven Hells should he know. But he knows for sure that that was neither manly or a yell.

He turned on his heel, cursing under his breath as to why his daughter decided to marry such an incompetent fool. Well, she didn't want to, but she got pregnant, not unless she wanted a bastard, she married the man— if that person was even considered one.

He stopped in his track when two dim dots lit up in the dark before him. Red. Green.

The aged man took a cautious step back.  
In the corner of his eyes, an orange dot of lit beside him. In his surprise, he jumped sideways, away from it.

What in Seven Hells?!

* * *

The rat-faced man tried to take calming breaths. Emphasis on tried. Every time he tried to take a deep breath, he ended up feeling the need to breath more, leaving him breathless.

The two specks of light started growing brighter. He realized the things at that moment. They were not specks but stone, and that there was not merely two. They were spread all over the cavern walls like decorations.

They grew gradually brighter and brighter, then as if fire spreading on alcohol, they lit up at once in a bright shade. He squinted, one hand used to shield his eyes. But even so, he left a little space between his fingers as he looked through them.

* * *

As quickly as the light came, it was gone.

Her feet met hard ground with a soft crushing sound, and she felt as she was, no using Semblance whatsoever. The only difference was that she didn't feel like she was where she was before, which doesn't make sense, but she knew that her gut feelings can be correct despite facts.

She slowly opened her eyes, squinting first while letting them adjust.

There were lots of things that was notable. Notable changes to be more specific, but those could wait. Black blurs came towards her at an alarming rate.

Ruby wasted no time as she pulled her scythe behind her. The cold handle pressed against the side of her wrist with the blade forming an arc around her back. In one swift motion, she pulled it from behind her in a smooth slash.

Red revealed itself between the black after her scythe broke through the tough exterior, cutting through it like a hot knife on butter.

Her vision was a bit back by now. Blurs of color were starting to form shapes, and these shapes were starting to have more defined lines.

More dark shapes rushed after her. She tossed Crescent Rose up slightly in the air, switching her grip to catch it with. Landing on her right, she held the right side of where her hand was with her left, making her arms crossed in front of her. Uncrossing her arms, the scythe spun. In an instant, the Grimm that jumped from behind her was beheaded and the one that came from upfront was in half. Using the momentum of that swing, she let go with one hand and caught it again behind her, the shaft diagonally across her back with the sniper aimed at an angle to the ground.

She unloaded a round, sending her spinning upwards so quickly that she looked nothing more than a red blur. In the same motion, she spun down like a wheel of death, and traveled across bodies of black. She jumped and did a swift twirl to slow herself.

Now her vision was back.

And now she was sure of a speculation she had ever since the light went out. She was no longer where she was before. It was some sort of gut-Aura instinct but she just knew that she was no longer the same place. Sure, it doesn't make any sense, but here she was.

The only thing she anticipated to see was the vanishing bodies of black, the rest was left to fate.

She stood on a platform of sorts. It's probably made of stone, but grass and little weeds have taken over the surface. Pillars rose around her in a circular arrangement, pointing skyward with vines entangled around them. They look as if they've long collapsed. Bits of the roof was left being held up, but most are in shards and fragments. Upwards was the mouth of a hole. It wasn't that big in size. Probably about twenty meters in diameter. Jagged edged of rocks protruded at the edges. In a few sides, clear liquid fell down in a small water fall, it collected and flowed in a stream at the side, ending in a small opening in the wall. The place was shaded in green with streams of light sneaking in through the shade of leaves above them. She probably wouldn't spot this place in an Bullhead.

The entire place looked ancient. Pieces of carved rock scattered on the floor, once belonging on the walls of the hole or the pillars.

It kind of reminded her of the ruins in the Emerald Forest back in initiation. The one where they got the relics, not the one where they took a Nevermore down at.

Another platform just like the one she stood in now was not far from her, one the other half of the place. They looked like they were once identical, but they had changed shaped as parts of them chipped of. Like twins where you scar one on one cheek and the other one on the other, different but still very much the same.

Right between them was a tree that somewhat reminded Ruby of the trees at Forever Fall, save for the pale trunk.

"Huh." She mused to herself.

She walked towards the edge of the platform and hopped off and landed on a stone pathways with the once even rocks elevated, cracked or missing altogether.  
"Where am I?" she mumbled to no one in particular.

She took another glance around decided to check out the opposite platform. Walking towards it, she passed by a face carved in the pale bark of the tree.

 _Wait, what?_

She whipped around so quick that she nearly would've gotten whiplash if her Aura was deactivated.

There, two eyes stared right back at her. Well, not exactly eyes but gaps in the trunk resembling eyes, possibly meant to represent it. Though that's less creepy than actual eyes, it's still unsettling to some degree for her, especially the blood-like tear stains. Like eyes, there was also a mouth carved below it. She tilted her head, trying to make sense of it in a different angle, but it didn't, so she straightened up again.

She debated whether to touch it or not. Pros, it might do something cool. Cons, it might do something horribly wrong. No offense, but it looked pretty creepy. But she gave it the benefit of the doubt and curiosity won over. How bad could it be?

The second her hand touched the wood, the world shifted. It all happened in a flash. One moment, she stared into the eyes of tree. Next, she found herself looking at a pair of boots. The boots stood on even ground. On the ground, was walls. Walls that built a castle. And in one of their yards, she stood, watching the boots that belonged to a young boy. He was probably about nine, perhaps ten. He held a bow, the string brought back and an arrow notched.

Ruby watched as he shot, missing the target by at least four feet.

He grumbled a bit under his breath then pulled another one from behind him. Notch. Pull. Aim. Fire.

Miss.

He sighed, reaching for one more arrow behind him, only there are none. He sighed once more.

Then, _he froze._

As if feeling her presence, he turned slowly towards her. His face met her corset, then slowly trailed up, landing on the rose sigil that clipped a cloak redder than blood on. Then finally, his deep blue eyes landed against eyes so silver, he could clearly see his reflection in them. And along with his reflection was something else. Dark wings flapped as they landed on one of the crates.

The girl took notice too as her eyes drifted over there. He turned, looking at the raven that looked directly at both of them. One eye was felt like it was trained on him, the other at her, but what bothered him was the third one—

The world moved around her again. And in an instant, she was where she was before.

She blinked once, twice.

Her hand rested between the the carved eyes. The wood was was rough but kind of smooth at the same time, oddly enough. Removing her hand from it, she half-expected a third eye just under her palm.

She doesn't know whether she regretted that or not, but one thing was for sure. Weird trees does weird stuff.

Who was that kid? Where was that place? Was that a place here? Is it near here? Does she have some sort of bond with that kid now? Is it like one of those Aura-combination thing? Does it have something to do with the whole silver-eyed thing? Does any of this have anything to do with the whole silver-eyed thing?

One question just leads to more questions, and that question branches out to more questions, and more, forming some sort of question tree. Maybe that's what that was, a question tree. It plants one seed of mystery, then that seed is watered by curiosity, next thing you know, the first sprout of question appears, then it will branch out to more, and those to more.

Still drifting in her sea of thought, she wandered over to the opposite platform.

It was pretty much the same the other one. Her eyes trailed up a pillar, looking at the delicate carvings. She pulled some vines out of the way to see them better. They were designed with stone roses with vines, like the current and green ones wrapped around it, encircled it in decorative arc, twisting, merging, splitting with thorns. Intricate stone petals decorated all over it, arranged as if a gentle breeze was blowing them away. She doesn't really know how to tell if it was gentle or harsh wind, but it looked soft, so she assumed it was a gentle breeze.

She let her eyes trail around the platform, landing on the surface she stood on. She hasn't realized it earlier, but it also had a design on it. Her emblem, Scatter, was carved into it. Well, not _in,_ it was standing out and above the flat surface enough to be visible, but not enough to trip someone. Its corners were gently curved. Over all, it looked like a giant stone coin with Scatter as the design. There was an additional detail though. Between each pillar, a triangle was also carved, pointing outwards. Glancing over at the other platform, sure enough, the same design was there, the only difference was that the triangles pointed inwards.

If her speculation was correct (it is kinda obvious), the inwards one was for going to, and the outwards one was going fro. Seeing as she found herself on the one pointing inwards should be evidence for that. Looks like she can get back if that's the case, but she wanted to explore a bit more. Again, she hopped of the platform.

This time, she took interest in the stone staircase that led upwards out the hole. An arch with a similar design of intertwining roses covered was at the base, and at upper end was a tree. The tree was grand. Its roots trailed at the rim of the hole, and at the top of the staircase the tree had an archway right in the middle of it. What's more enchanting was that it doesn't look like somebody had forcibly sliced that part off, but like the tree itself had decided to grow that way to give entry. Another magical-looking tree, what does this one have in store for her now?

"Woah. . ." She walked upwards. Her boots tapped on the stone steps, hopping over a step covered in dandelions once in a while.

The tree looked more enchanting up close with roots that intertwined with one another. Turning around, she took in the view of the hole, and it was like something you pulled out of an adventure game.

She pulled her scroll out and took a picture, more than excited to show this to the rest when she gets back. She then took a photo of the tree.

Over at the other side of the trunk were. . . trees. Just trees. Like a forest. No wait. Ruby walked through. It is a forest. Huh.

Curious what the grand tree looked like from the other side, she turned around to come face to face with the bark with her insignia on it. Jumping backwards in surprise, her head whipped up, expecting to see a different tree, but it was still very much the same tree, minus the twisting and twirling roots, but more importantly, minus the passage through.

Almost instinctively, she was sure that this was 'what the tree had in store for her. Right on the bark was, yet again, her ins— _their_ , she corrected. Their insignia. It was, like the other one, dirty. She reached out to wipe it, only to have her hand pass straight through.

 _Saw that one coming,_ she thought.

Walking towards it, she passed straight through, like expected, and the same temple-like place was still there.

She walked back out and looked around the thick trunk, only to find a round pond in the shape of the excavation in the ground where she was earlier. The surface was calm enough that she can see the reflection of the gentle swaying of the leaves that grows on trees that went around it.

She snapped a picture with her Scroll, and examined it in the gallery. Satisfied with the quality, she placed it back her pocket. She can't put into words how excited she was to both tell her friends about this and try to get some answer out of Uncle Qrow if he had any clue about this.

But first things, first. Where was she? After all, she can't exactly go back if she doesn't know where 'back' is. And the cherry topping that ice cream problem was the Dust that brought her here.

She had never felt Dust like the one she felt in the tree. She had probably accidentally set it of when those Grimm popped up. But the main issue was it's purpose. If that Dust was, in fact, made for travelling, chances are, it isn't for short distance expenditures. Not unless, that was for experimental reasons which would only take you a few meters from where you were. But if it isn't experimental, then she might be days or even weeks away from Haven! She could be anywhere, maybe as far as back to Vale. Or even to Vacuo!

 _Or Atlas_ , she thought as a cold breeze blew through.

That was too cold to be somewhere generally down the map at this season of the year. It's either it transported her up the map or moved her position it time (as ridiculous as is sounds, Ruby had always wondered about a type of Dust that can do that) or maybe both.

Well, either way. Her gut-Aura has a nudge that she is very far from home— Okay, not home, but where she should be.

But again, first things, first. She had to find out just where she was.

With a burst of Semblance, she jumped out and through the tree leaves.

Below her, rose petals seemed to evaporate into air, some sooner than the rest, but all happening instantly. One single petal was last to disappear, landing on where she was earlier along with some leaves that were knocked out of their branches. Then just like the rest, it vanished.

And just when in seemed like the only noise that would be left there was the gentle sway of leaves and the occasional chippers of birds, a small noise broke through.

"Squak." It said in a small voice as if fearing that the Huntress would return to end it.

It came out of the pillar it hid behind, and after flapping its wing a couple of times. It took flight, into the sky, into Westeros.

* * *

The old man looked up in awe at the ceiling cave that was decorated with illuminating crystals. The torch in his hand was long forgotten.

If someone had told him he would find something like this, he would have called him bat-shit crazy, but now that he is seeing it with his own eyes. . .

"Old man!"

He barely took a glance at the other man turning around the corner. He turned his eyes to him for a second before gazing back up the ceiling.

"Are you seein' this?" The younger one said, not quite believing his eyes.

For once, the older one did not retaliate, but gave a simple nod.

They just stood there in silence for a while.

"They're beaut'ful, ain't they?" The other one said.

The old man gave a long sigh. The quiet was good while it lasted. "Yes. They're beautifull. And that moment would continue to be beautiful if you have decided to shut that big sh-"

He didn't even bother letting him finish his sentence. "What now?"

Resisting the child-like urge to roll his eyes, he looked over his son-in-law.

"We mine it."

* * *

Author's Note: Woo! Prologue done! This is still up for editing (When were my works not up for editing? Hmmm. Never). Anyways, the other one would probably be out in a week or two, but for now, I hope you enjoyed this. As always, comment for any ways I can improve my writing, etcetera, etcetera. See ya'.


	2. Chapter 1 (pt 1): Crater Red

**Author's note:** Alright, so this wasn't originally going to be a two-parter but then it got too long that I decided to divide it so that it won't be a pain in the butt for me to edit.

Now, without further ado . . .

 **CHAPTER 1 _part 1_ : CRATER RED  
**

* * *

A young man stirred in his sleep, an unconscious state in which no one knew when he would wake up. Maybe he would wake up in the next few days, maybe a month if he survives, maybe he never would wake up. . . Or maybe the next few seconds.

For the first time in days, Brandon Stark's eyes fluttered open

* * *

Alright, she has no clue where she was going.

She had probably been walking for an hour or two now. Scratch that, she thought with on glance at the sky, Ruby had been walking for about four hours. The sun had been up an hour past noon earlier, and now it looked like it was more than prepared to seep down the horizon out of sight until daybreak. She heaved out a sigh.

Ruby thought she was done with the walking with a side of walking by now. Apparently not.

So much for finally making it to Haven, she's starting to think she really was days away from there (again). Just a speculation though, because she has no idea where she was, but the plants and wildlife was certainly more than a little bit different than one's she had come across in Anima. Some were the same, but for the most part, no. She hasn't even encountered any pathways yet. On the plus side, she hasn't encountered any Grimm yet either, so hooray for some rest. That enthusiasm probably wouldn't last and soon enough she would be yet again search for some poor dark creature to slay. Wait, what if that Dust really did transport her back in time? What if humans hadn't existed yet? Before even Grimm existed?

No, no, no. That would be bad, very bad. Exciting, yes. But bad. She needed to get back to her friends and family, she may just be some pawn in the grand scheme of things there, but she wanted to help as much as she can. Help, no matter how small, is still help, still contribution, as long as she doesn't get in the way.

Oh, no, What if she can't get back? What if she gets stuck there? Would she eventually be wearing leaves for clothes and camp out in a cave? Well, no, she could just build herself a fort like she and Yang used to, but still!

A sound broke her out of her reverie. A sound made by something— More specifically and importantly, someone.

It wasn't much sound. A low humming, like a tune of a song. And it was music to her ears! Focusing her ears a bit more, she could hear a prickling of fire.

Sweet, sweet civilization!

Fighting the urge to skip towards that direction, she settled for a light jog, or what's considered a jog considering her speed. She weaved between the trees, her balance kept her rate of travel constant even on uneven ground. Soon enough, the fire came into view behind the tree, and a person was humming holding what appears like a rabbit above the flames. _Bunny! No!_ Some parts were about cooked, some parts a tad bit browner and some pale but most was cooked. A horse was tied to a tree not far, it's appearance as generic as a brown horse can get.

She stopped before the treeline ended, shielding herself behind a trunk. One of things she learned in travelling was that not all travelers were very friendly. Some of those people even travel because of the things that they have done, the things that they rather not get caught for doing. And to be not caught, they try to eliminate all witnesses which may or may not include people who spot them in the forest who may or may not report him if they recognize him from a wanted poster.

Luckily, they don't attack sometimes, if you don't act suspicious at least. And people don't often think Ruby is, quite the opposite really. Honestly, there was this one time when she bought tickets for a horror movie that the staff at the counter asked whether she would be able to take a movie like that, saying things like "It has a lot of blood and guts." or "It has some 'touchy' scenes., are you sure you want to see this?". Before she could defend herself, Yang had swept in and said that "Yes, my baby sister can take it. She has seen worse. Have you seen what she did to those poor Beowolves before? As if being sliced in half wasn't enough, she ripped them apart into four!". Ruby had felt a sense of pride at the time, even if the 'baby sister' part may have made her seem more childish at first.

And she was getting off topic, wasn't she? Yes, she was.

Taking a deep breath, she stepped into the clearing.

The man had his back towards her. He was mostly dressing in black leather and fur that seemed cozy but at the same time , it made her feel itchy. A sword was hung on a belt around his hip. The end of the sheath poked the ground as he was crouching over, cooking the poor caught bunny rabbit. He resumed roasting, oblivious to the person behind him. If she was a murderer, he'd be dead.

 _Doesn't he have his Aura on?_

She means, not everybody has an activated Aura, but usually people with sword in the middle of the woods do have their Aura's activated. And when Aura's are activated, people would usually feel it if someone is standing a few feet from them. Heck, even with inactivated ones, they would still have a feeling that someone was watching them. It's either this guy was ignoring it, can't feel it, or knows she's there but ignoring her.

The horse had noticed her though. It— he—she— Well, whatever gender or breed the horse was, he-she glanced at her. Ruby could almost see the stallion cocking his-her head to the side in a curious stare.

After a moment of hesitation where she thought and re-thought her options through, Ruby cleared her throat.

"Excuse me."

The reaction was instant. The man whipped around and pulled his sword at the ready.

If she was going to attack him, wouldn't it have been easier to just kill him with his back turned to her? But then again, somebody appearing out of nowhere can raise alarms. But what was he expecting to find when he turned around? A criminal, perhaps, or thief. Wait— A thief is a classification of a criminal, wasn't it?

His head tilted upwards, sight directed way above her head. His eyes squinted for a second, an expression of slight confusion plastered on his features.

" _Uhh_ ," Ruby started, raising a hand to his line of sight to catch his attention, "Down here."

The man's eyes trailed downwards, meeting with her silver ones, holding it there for a few second. Then they drifted to her hair, before they started moving down, staring at her legs and didn't stop for an amount of time that was enough to fall into the uncomfortable category. Ruby ignored her heating face and the urge to wrap her cloak around herself. It wasn't like she was wearing Yang's clothes; he didn't have to give her the barely-enough-clothing look. Maybe it was because she was in a cold weather and she was only wearing that?

"Yeah, _umm_." She nervously pulled her cloak over her shoulder, shielding one of her legs. Wanting to not overstay her welcome, she just went on with what she needed in the first place. "Do you know what way Haven is to?"

His eyes went back to her face, and she released a breath she hadn't realized she had been holding. He replied simply. "Can't say I've ever heard of that place."

Ruby stared at him for a good few seconds, not sure of what to say about that, or how to respond to that.

 _He hasn't heard of Haven? I would understand if he hasn't heard of some tiny village, but Haven? That's like saying you don't know what a Huntsman was, and in a world infested with Grimm, that was ridiculous._

She let out a little giggle. "Very funny mister. But seriously, I need to get back _A_ -SAP."

He kept on staring blankly at her as if she was the one being ridiculous.

 _No, he can't be serious, can he?_

"You know, Haven." She repeated and then clarified. "In Mistral?"

Not a flash of recognition passed on his face even once, making Ruby feel a twinge she would when a problem she didn't think she would have jumped out of a bush like a wild toad.

"You can't be serious."

"Do I look like I'm joking?" his voice was as deadpanned as his face.

Ruby felt that twinge of nervousness spread through her, making her feel like she was in cold sweat.

 _Am I— Am I really back in time?! No, no, that can't be right, there's no Dust that_ _—_ She interrupted her own thoughts. _What if there was?_

Haven was established about 80 years ago along with the other academies that trained Hunters and Huntresses. They were created after peace was achieved, and their purpose was to make sure that that peace was held.

"How about Anima? The continent." If she was back in time, she had to figure out just how far back. No Huntsmen academies means that it would at least be 80 years back. But then there was the possibility that she went _forward_ instead of back, where Salem had succeeded in bringing down the establishments. The cold that surruoded Ruby seemed to drop a degree lower at the thought.

She searched for any reaction, but the only thing she got was yet again another blank one.

 _I may just be in a completely different world._

"See here, _girlie"_ He emphasized it enough that Ruby felt a bit insulted. "I don't know where this Haven-whorehouse you're talking about, but I ain't interested. I'm a man of the Night's Watch. That means I swore off women."

Ruby's mouth was nearly agape. Haven? _A whorehouse?!_

Her immediate reaction was to debunk _that_ speculation of his.

"Haven's not a who-whor- Ack!" she couldn't say it, it feels weird to the tongue, plus it made her feel dirty.

The man's image of seriousness wavered when he raised a brow at her struggle.

"It's an academy." she finally managed to spout out, deciding that the man got what she meant to say earlier.

"An academy, you say?" He inquired.

"Yes, an academy." Ruby confirmed.

"You're not a whore?"

Ruby visibly flinched convincing him a bit more that a girl who can't even say that word and feel uncomfortable hearing it, couldn't possibly be one. Or maybe it's just one of those innocent acts they sometimes use to lure people in. There were plenty of less respectable men who are into that, enough that they prefer a younger. . . companion for the night.

" _Ewww_ , gross. No." She waved her hand in disgust like she was trying to wave the thought away.

"Then wear a longer skirt. If you're not trying to seduce people, a skirt like that will just leave you cold." He said. He pushed the hilt down, sheathing the inch of steel that shown earlier, then he sat down.

Ruby didn't really feel that cold. Those leggings were designed for cold and heat like the ones she uses for winter, except where they were ripped from hard wear and the small gap from the hem of her shirt and the start of the leggings.

"These keep me warm." She gestured at the dark cloth that covered most of her legs.

He arched a disbelieving brow, like he had in nearly everything that Ruby had claimed to be true up to now. She felt something like a mix of annoyance and embarrassment. She was starting to feel like the "ignorant dolt" Weiss had called her when they were less _friendly_ with one another at the start of the year.

Ruby would dare him to try them but one, it probably wouldn't fit him. And two, if he thinks that wearing that skirt is for seduction, what will he think if she starts taking off her leggings. So, no.

She crossed her arms in a defensive manner. "It does."

"Sure, it does." He said passively, he turned back to his cooking.

Ruby pouted before coming near him.

She hesitated for a while but after deciding that this was probably a good chance to know more about just where on Remnant (or if she was even on Remnant) she was. "Can I sit here?"

"If I say no, will you go away?"

"Hmmm." Ruby pondered, not that there was any question to her response. "Nope!"

He gave a light chuckle at her child-like demeanor. He moved over a bit. Not that she couldn't sit elsewhere, but as a gesture that she may sit down.

She hopped down, crossed legged, where he had earlier, feeling a bit weird about the lingering butt-warmth.

"So," she didn't waste anytime and started her barrage of questions that felt like a dam threatening to burst at this point. "where are we?"

"Hmm?" His head tilted over at her direction, but his eyes remained on the meat over the fire.

"Where is 'here' exactly?" She pointed to the ground for emphasis, knowing fully well that he probably couldn't see it as anything other than a small blur of movement from his poriferal..

"'Here' is somewhere between Winterfell and the Wall." he turned the rabbit over.

"Right." _Welp,_ she didn't know either of those. He remained silent as if he expected her to know what those two were, the same way she expected him to know Haven. After a quite pregnant pause, she followed up the question deciding that there was no point in being discreet, or at least she couldn't see one. "And where is that exactly?"

He finally glanced at her again, eyes inevitably falling into her own before he decided that her forehead was way more interesting to stare at. _Do my eyes make him feel uncomfortable?_ Ruby apologized silently if they did. "Did you get struck in the head or something?"

"Well." Ruby twiddled her thumbs. "I was somewhere else, then next thing I know, I'm here."

"That's specific." He said sarcastically. Then he followed up a question that felt like should be insulting to her in some way. "Did you eat some weird mushrooms?"

"No, I was always told not to." _Also, I was told to stay away from some berries, poisonous plants, thing like that._

He huffed, taking the rabbit from the flames and turned it once over in examination. Seeming to be satisfied with its doneness, he turned back to her once more.

"Do you have diseases that are passed through spit?"

"Umm, no?" The questioning tone was for his intentions and not her answer.

"'No?'" he repeated, making her tone of unsureness clear in his own.

"Uh, no. I don't." Ruby said with less doubt in her voice.

"Good. You can have a bite then." He passed it on to her.

"Uh, no thank you." She raised her hand to kindly turn down the offer.

"Didn't your mother ever tell you it's rude to turn down food offered to you?" He said, nudging it towards her. "I appreciate the modesty, gods know we need it more these days, but go ahead and take a bite."

Ruby took the stick from him and scrutinized it skeptically "How do I know it's not poisoned?"

"Do you seriously think I'd do that? That'd be a waste of good poison."

She shrugged, taking a bite. "You kept on asking questions, so I asked one too."

"I'm not a rapist, I'm not going to touch you." He said, as if it was the most ordinary response.

Ruby nearly choked on the meat she was chewing on. She pounded on her chest then swallowed. Coughing, she said. " _Ewee_ , that's not what I thought you would do!"

He leaned back from her her outburst, looking as confused as her. "Why else would a man poison you?!"

"I don't know!" she half-yelled.

A possibility came into mind. "You're not a noble, after you?"

 _They have nobles here?_ She blinked at the accusation. "No."

"Then why else would I poison you for?" With the speculation disproved, he was mostly out of the most common reasons and it showed in his face.

"I don't know!" She threw her hands— _err_ , one hand in the air, the other one still held the rabbit. Gotta remind herself of that.

One other purpose came into mind for poisoning her, one that doesn't involve any so-you-can-get-me-unconscious-and-deliver-me-to-Salem. "Kill me and take my money?"

"I could kill you right here and now with my sword." He tapped on the hilt for emphasis. "I wouldn't have to waste poison or time." His eyes fell on the rabbit. "And good meat."

"It's going to take a lot more than that." Ruby reasoned. "I can still escape even if you slice me once."

He stared at her for a few seconds, like he was trying to piece together a puzzle or solve a mystery.

"As if." he said like he was talking to an idiot who doesn't understand the concept of being stabbed and dying. "Last time I checked, you aren't made of steel."

"I'm not." she said plainly. _Obviously_ , she wasn't.

"And those clothes hardly classify as armor. Heck, you don't even have enough to cover your legs for the cold, much less have metal on." he pointed out.

Ruby pouted. "Okay. One, it was warmer where I was before I got here. Two, it's a combat skirt."

He snorted at her.

"A combat skirt." He laughed as if it was the most ridiculous thing he had ever heard, and it was.

"Alright then." He mimicked her earlier actions. He raised two fingers. "One, no skirts are meant for battle." He folded his ring finger, leaving the little one up, unaware what that meant if you were around Ruby's bunch, not that she really noticed. He just liked leaving the bigger one for emphasis. "Two, what would you even be fighting? Bunny rabbits?"

He chuckled at his own comment.

Ruby huffed and crossed her arms in a manner that somewhat reminded her of Weiss.

"Well, excuse me, but some Grimm rabbits can be extremely dangerous and extremely fast."

He was just straight up laughing now.

"Grim?" He snorted again. "What'cha call it? Grimm Rabbits? Now that's the most ridiculous thing I've heard. Even more ridiculous than a combat skirt."

"Well," Ruby defended herself. "They're not as common a Beowolf or Ursa, but they exist. The giant ones are the more dangerous ones, the rest just reach up to your knee."

"What're you on about?" He pulled out a leather flask of sorts from his belt. "'Beowolf? Ursa? What're those?"

Ruby stared blankly at him. Were those not common here? She had always encountered those, even in Anima, and Weiss had mention their appearance all the way in Mantle.

"You know," she waved a hand in front of him, hoping to drag some memory back or something "Wolf and bear Grimm.".

"Never heard of 'em." He took a swig from the flask, then nudged it over to Ruby, who kindly rejected it. "What're these 'Grimm' creatures you keep rambling about anyways?"

Ruby couldn't think of anything to do other than just blink at him.

Was she transported to a time before the term 'Grimm' was coined? Or was she moved to a completely different place where they don't exist at all? Odds seem to be bending on the latter, as silly as the idea sound.

"Grimm" she repeated. "Y'know, big black animals with bones poking out of them."

He just stared at her, again with that same look he had on him when he first saw her. Like he was thinking long and hard.

"You're kidding me." she said, after realizing that he really did not know them. Which didn't make any sense. If what Ozpin had told her Uncle Qrow was true, that would mean the Grimm would've been around longer than the first man had.

He shook his head, both to say "No"and to clear his head, confirming her speculation.

In silence, she went over the list of reasons as to why. Again, the leading explanation was that she was in another world entirely. Another was that the man before her was insane or just crazy oblivious, which she doubts. Another theory which is way more ridiculous than the last was that she was transported into a simulation for an experiment where scientist try to see how much attraction the Grimm would have on people ignorant to them, seeing as they are attracted to negative emotion. No Grimm, one less fear, one less cause of negativity. Okay, now it was starting to sound less ridiculous, but the prospect of her being in one still is very unlikely.

"What's your name?" He asked, breaking her train of thought.

"Hmm?"

"Your name. What is it?"

Ruby was stumped. She just doesn't say her full name that quickly anymore, not after being attacked by Tyrian. She tries to remain as undetected as necessary. And that includes not throwing her name out in the air for the enemy to sniff out and track.

"Why do you need to know that?"

"Why do you refuse to say it?" He returned simply. "Not unless there's something to hide."

He had a point.

She racked her mind for any names that she had been called that wasn't her real one. That way, she would still respond to it, even it it isn't her original one.

Okay, think Ruby. Think! What's the last nicknames you were called?

"Crater—" Face. She stopped herself right there.

If he was looking at her strangely earlier, he was doing even more so now.

His continued stare kicked Ruby back into thinking of another name. Hopefully, a more believable one.

"Red." she said before she could stop her mouth, remembering the nickname that Torchwick so loved to call her.

 _Well, crud._

"Crater Red." the man said, as if he was trying to see what it sounded like. And boy did it sound straight up as fake as much as Ruby wanted to slam her head to the nearest tree. This man was the first man she had seen since she got here, who knows how long before they see another person. And the name she was stuck with was Crater Red. _Great._

"Yea- yeah! Crater Red!" She sounded more stupid by the second. "That's my name alright!"  
But even she doesn't sound convinced of that.

 _Nice, Ruby. What a perfect name,_ she thought sarcastically. _He'll definitely buy that._

"Very well, _Crater._ " he emphasized, rubbing salt on the wound "I am Yoren of the Night's Watch."

"Okay, nice to meet you." She reached out an enthusiastic hand, trying her best to not sound like she had no idea just what on Remnant the Night's Watch was. First thing that came into mind was that it was a business consisting of night guards or something.

After staring at her hand like he was wondering if it was diseased, before he shook it.

"Oh!" Ruby suddenly said, breaking the growing awkward silence. She remembered the roasted rabbit in her hand. "Sorry, I kinda forgot. Here."

She reached it back to him.

He screwed the top back on the flask and took the roasted meat from her.

"Where are you going?" He asked before taking a bite, it had certainly got colder at this point.

"I don't know." Ruby shrugged. "Where's the nearest village?"

"It's a while from here." he said, mouth full and all. "You'll probably make it there on horse by tomorrow noon."

"And on foot?" Clearly, she doesn't have a horse.

"Depending on how fast you walk, but for you," he glanced at her. "Probably before nightfall tomorrow."

She groaned. More walking.

"What direction?"

He nodded towards the treeline to their right.

"Keep going there." He swallowed. "Eventually, you'll see a path. Then you'll just go north. " A pause. " Assuming you know where north is."

"I know where north is." she said. She may not know half of what he said earlier, but she knows basic directions.

"Good." He took another bite.

"Okay, then." Ruby stood up and took a few steps away. "Then I better get going."

She was barely a two meters away when he spoke, stopping her in her tracks.

"Are you trying to get yourself killed?" he said spun to see her a few feet away now to the direction he pointed to.

"No?" she sounded more like she was asking a question than answering one.

"You can stay the night with me, it's nearly nightfall." Sure enough, the sun was staring to set below the treeline, the shadows were stretching longer over the ground which started to lose their green shade to an orange one, soon to be grey then just barely silhouettes under the dim moonlight. "There are less respectable men out there who want nothing more than to rape, murder or rob you, maybe all."

"I'll be fine." Ruby assured him with a small smile, that did nothing to make him feel more sure about her decision.

"You really are crazy." He turned back toward the flames. "Stay here. It's fine with me."

"But I have to—"

"I'm heading that same direction with or without you, and I'm not going to ride there and see your corpse along the way. I don't want that on my conscience." he said with a tone of finality. "Besides, I have a horse. You'll get there quicker and save yourself from getting tired."

Almost instantly, Ruby was smiling inches from his face.

Instinctively, he leaned back from the sudden moving object, falling off balance.

Ruby caught the rabbit inches before it hit the ground. That would've been a waste of good meat and a bunny's life.

"Sorry." She apologized sheepishly, guilt built up. A man offers you company and a quicker way of travelling, how do you thank him? By suddenly appearing in his face.

He propped himself up on his elbows. "How?"

"Uh." Ruby took a look around her, trying to figure out what he was referring to. But most of her knows just what both startled and perplexed him. "'How?"'

"How did you get there that quickly?" he said, craning his neck to get a better view at her.

"I used my legs?" Ruby tried. "Sorry, I guess I got excited, I won't do it again."

He just stared for what must be seconds that seemed to drag on to minutes more before nodding, then sat up, chest rising and falling rapidly.

She bit her lip and twiddled her thumbs.

"Can I still ride with you?" she asked innocently in a small voice.

"Ye-yes," he said, taking a few calming breaths. Then he added, "Just don't do that again."

"Sorry." She said again.

"Eh, don't fuss over it." he waved a hand dismissively. "Just surprised me, that's all."

Ruby passed the rabbit back to him, which he took gratefully after patting his hands on his pants. Not exactly clean, but clean-er.

She sat down next to him, a few feet more than personal space called for.

"No need to be shy with me." He said. "You can sit as close as you like as long as you're not sitting on me."

Ruby scooted a bit closer, much to her own discomfort.

None of them said anything for a while, which was fine with both of them. Yoren because he was eating, and Ruby because it gave her time to think.

From the grand view of things, she was in a completely different world. That would explain the Aura question earlier, and a lot of other things. But why would Dust embedded in a tree with her— their emblem lead to a place like this? Was it possible that other one's like her are here? Silver-eyed people. Was it possible that her mom had been here? If so—

"Here." Yoren once again broke her from her reverie. That seems to be a theme now. Ruby would go into deep thinking with a bunch of questions that led to more questions, and somebody or something pulling her out of this chain of thought.

"Huh?" Ruby glanced at the half-eaten rabbit under her nose.

"Your hungry ain't ya?" He offered. "You can have the rest, I you like. It's cold now but, you can heat it right there."

He nodded towards the crackling bonfire.

"Uh, no thanks." Ruby politely denied the offer. "You're surely hungrier than I am."

"Says the girl who woke up in the middle of nowhere." He didn't back down the offer. "I think we're both hungry, and neither of us have the energy or time to hunt."

"No, really, I have my own food."

Ruby undid the belts that held her pack in place despite how much she moves in battle, like she had so many times before that she didn't even have to spare a glance at the buckled anymore. She sat it down between her crossed legs and started rummaging through the contents. He watched her dig through the insides for a minute with Ruby mumbling a small 'Nope.' or 'Not this' until she found what she was searching for.

"Aha," she said triumphantly, pulling out small plastic container filled with goodies that can be roasted over fire. It was pretty convenient when travelling. She popped the lock on the sides that kept the coolness in which is the effect of some ice Dust on the lid, and then pulled out a sausage before closing it again.

He watched with an unreadable expression on his face as Ruby started to pick bark off a branch.

She caught his look and said "Oh. This is a—"

"Cock." he finished for her.

She felt her face burn with different shades of scarlet.

Ruby glanced between Yoren and the sausage, then Yoren again.

"No!" She exclaimed. Her face felt so hot, she thinks she might be able to cook it there. "It's beef!"

"Ah," he nodded, a mischievous glint in his eyes. "Cow's cock then."

"No," she gave him a light punch in the shoulder. "Get your mind out of the gutter."

He gave a light chuckle at her reaction. "Calm down, kid. I get it."

Ruby stopped fretting at once. "Yo-you do?"

He chuckled and pulled the rabbit to his face.

"Aye. Never seen one that looked like that though."

So sausages _were_ already invented.

"Meanie." she grumbled under her breath.

"What was that?"

"Nothing."

"C'mon, spit it out."

"No, really."

"Just say it!"

"Meanie! I called you a meanie, you meanie!" She threw her hands in the air. The sausage slipped out and flew into the air.

"Eep!" she squeaked, jumping to her feet.

Holding the branch with the point to the sky, she watched it fall. It came closer. Ruby held the stick and the ready.

She lunged the point in the air once it came into a close enough proximity, stabbing it on Yoren's hand, who made a move to swipe it. Surprising both of them.

"Ack!"  
"Gah! I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry."

Yoren passed the sausage from his bleeding hand to his good one. Raising his hand to his face he checked it

"I'msorryI'msorryI'msorry." Ruby carried on apologizing.

"Don't sweat it." He said putting his arm back to his side. "It's just a scratch."

"But you're cut." she pointed at his hand. "You're bleeding!"

"Eh, I've had worse." He said passively.

"But—"

He raised a hand in front of her, making her shut her mouth.

"Look. I'd rather take five of these scratches than listen to you apologize all night." He then added when she was about to say something else "Don't even mention the earlier incident either. You've already apologized for that one, and for the last time, it's fine."

Ruby bit her lip, clearly agitated but didn't day another word.

"Here." He tossed the coc—er, sausage back to her.

Ruby caught it by stabbing the pointy end of the stick. She examined it for blood, the only significant change was the tears on the surface here and there from where he clutched it.

No blood, he bled from the other side of his hand. But for good measure, she pulled a handkerchief out and wiped it once over.

Ruby roasted in silence for the next few minutes, while Yoren finished up the rest of the rabbit.

Seems like the No-Aura-Activation theory is correct, Ruby thought. If he does have Aura, he could have easily turned it on to help heal his cut. And that adds a point to the Whole Different World theory that seems more and more plausible the more time she spends there.

But what if he was out of Aura? What if he just fought something or someone?

One way to find out.

"What does Aura mean?" She asked, hoping to sound innocent at the question.

"Huh?" He directed his glanced over at her.

" _Aura._ What does it mean?" She repeated, trying her best not to be suspected of an underlying plot to the statement.

"It's. . ." He pondered on how to explain it, while Ruby sat at the edge of her seat (figuratively, of course). "the feeling or effect somebody gives."

So, he used _that_ definition.

He carried on explaining, but Ruby's real question had already been answered. She didn't stop him though. That's just going to raise suspicion on why she even bothered asking in the first place.

"For example, a man looking at you in a threatening way can give a dangerous aura."

Ruby nodded.

He smirked at her. "Another example is how _you_ give off this annoying aura."

Ruby pouted at him, suddenly glad to have been sitting near enough that she shoved his shoulder a bit. "Meanie!"

He laughed at her expense, while she huffed at him.

"Oh!" Ruby said with exaggerated feigned realization.

"Hm?"

"I get it." She pointed a finger to the sky dramatically. "For example, _you_ give an aura of a guy who thinks he's funny!"

"I am pretty funny, ain't I?" He brought his flask up to his lips.

"Ha, you wish." Ruby crossed her arms. She watched with satisfaction as he stopped before he could take a sip, slowly bringing the flask down. He stared directly into her silver eyes that seemed to turn into an orange hue as the sun set behind him.

"Are you saying I don't have a sense of humor?" He said, daring her to say 'yes'.

"That's what I'm saying." She replied defiantly.

Now it was his turn to lean over to her, instantly popping Ruby's personal bubble of comfort.

"Take that back." He said in all seriousness.

"Nu-uh, don't wanna." Ruby replied, taking his challenge and also leaning forward.

"Take. That. Back." He said again, emphasizing each syllable.

"Nope, not gonna happen." she said, popping the 'p'.

"I'm gonna count to three." He raised three fingers at her, Ruby stared at them then at him with an expression that read 'Go ahead.'

"One." He put his pinky down.

Ruby looked at him dead in the eye, trying her best to ignore the twitching of the corner of his mouth.

"Two." He folded another, his ring finger which left his middle one. He was searching for any sign of giving in, but he got none, much to Ruby's effort. Though, she did take note of how he bit his lips, as if to stop himself from laughing.

"Thre—"

She couldn't take it, the sight of somebody trying to hold in laughter always had her laughing. She burst out laughing.

He was dumbfounded at her.

"What?" he said. "I haven't done anything yet."

"I'm sorry." She tried to say in between laughs. "Yo—you look like an idiot."

Okay that was mean. But true.

"I do not." He said with all the confidence he could put in his voice at the moment.

"Do to."

"Do not."

"Do to."

"Do not."

"Do to." Ruby said. "You looked like this."

She did what she thinks is an imitation of his expression earlier, coming off extremely exaggerated and ridiculous.

Now he also burst out laughing.

"What is that?!" He pointed to her face. "You face looks like you're trying to hold your shit in."

"Well," Ruby giggled, ignoring the profanity "That's what you face was like."

He raised a brow. "Then you admit, I have a sense of humor then?"

"Your face has a sense of humor."

"Who's the meanie now?" He shot back, finally taking a gulp from the pouch.

"Alright, you got me." Ruby pulled the sausage from the flames. "You're pretty funny."

"Ha!" He yelled triumphantly.

She blew on the sausage, the steam flew sideways.

"You sure that's cooked?" He asked. Usually, cooked sausages would be browner than that, but then again it did appear different from the other sausages he had seen.

"Yep." She said, popping the 'p'. She leaned in and took a bite. "Hot!" The second it touched her lips, she pulled back.

Once again, Yoren laughed at her expense.

She quickly pulled a metal water container out of her bag. She sighed out in relief when the steel cooled her lips.

"What's that?" Yoren asked.

Right. From the looks of things, whatever world she was transported to either hadn't invented these stuff yet or had outdated technology. Well, for Remnant it's outdated anyways.

Ruby gave it a moment more before pulling it from her mouth.

"It's kinda like a flask," she explained. "But it's a metal cylinder instead."

"Yes, I can see that." He asked. "But why bother carrying something heavy?"

"Well, um. " Ruby looked around as if a clear explanation was going to jump out of the bushes. From what she was about to say, her answer was just going to result into more questions. "It's lighter than it seems."

He raised an inquisitive brow.

"Yeah, it is. Plus it keeps my water whatever temperature I want it to."

Curiosity won him over. "Can I see?"

Ruby tossed it over to him.

He caught it a few inches away from his chest, noting that it was in fact lighter than he assumed. He turned it over in his hand. It was basically a metal cylinder, but what caught his attention was the red tint to it. Crater had stated that it can change how hot or cold it is, but it was pretty much room temperature to the touch. There was a small gap between the top and the rest, and below this was one more gap that forms a little ring between the top and the rest. The ring had spots it. A white spot int he middle, and it grows bigger on either side of it after that. Over at the left, gradually growing sizes of blue dots, and red at the right. Below the ring was a small triangle that pointed up to it towards the second largest blue spot, the biggest one having a design of a snowflake in it. He closed his hand on the top and gave it a little nudge, coming off with a pop, easier than he expected. The inside was lined with some sort of smooth leather around the lower part of it. The top had some strange small contraption. It seemed like a some sort of cork attached to a lever. The lever, in turn, was attached to something small and circular. Doing what Crater had done, he pressed that circular thing and the cork just jumped out with a small popping sound.

Yoren tilted it and watched water pour out and unto his hand. Unlike the outside, it was cold. Very cold.

"You claim you can control how hot or cold this is?" He asked.

"Yep!" She exclaimed enthusiastically and leaned over to him and started pointing to a part. "You see that ring with the dots?"

"Mm-hnm"

"And that triangle."

"Aye, I see it."

She leaned over more so that she pressed against his arm. "So the triangle points to how cold or hot it is."

"All you have to do." She said as she reached forward, putting more weight against him. He held the container a little bit closer to her for her to reach. " Is turn it."

She turned the ring so that the triangle now pointed to the third red dot.

Yoren watched with interest as the lass started counting under her breath.

"And zero!" She tilted the cylinder over and warm water poured over his hand. "See? Warm!"

He closed his hand into a fist as if to make sure that what he warm feeling was real.

"What kind of sorcery is this?" he mumbled more to himself than to her. A plausible explanation came up in his thoughts once more. "Your not one of them Red Priestesses from Essos, are you?"

"A red-what from where-now?"

"Apparently not." He answered his own question.

Crater sat back again, relieving her weight off him. She tilted her head at him, some of her hair fell on her face, which she just blew away, but then they just fell on her face again. With an adorable huff, she reached up and pushed them out of the way before resuming to stare at him.

There were lots of things Yoren noted about her at first glance. Even before first glance actually. One was her voice when she called his attention. He mostly expected a young kid to be the one who called him from that pitch. She was young bit not as young as he originally anticipated. But she does seem to have a mind of a five-year-old. Naturally, his eyes first fell on the bright red cloak that was just screaming to be looked at. It was tattered from hardware at the ends, making him wonder just how old and how long it had been used. But battered clothing isn't uncommon, after all, some people barely have money to spare to eat, much less for more comfortable clothing. Clothing is still clothes no matter how damaged.

In basic description, she would sound like your typical Northener. Dark hair, pale skin and grey eyes. But when you see her, you would wonder just what part of the north she hailed from.

There were her eyes. He had seen all sorts of eyes in his travels. Green, blue, black, brown, even some occasional red of some priestesses, and if what others say is true, Targaryens have purple eyes. Bit he had never encountered silver before. Don't get him wrong, he had seen a variety of gray eyes, some becoming lighter than the last. But Crater's were silver like the actual metal, they gleam and shine. Almost as if somebody had hidden some treasure deep in her eyes when she was a babe.

Her hair was also a peculiar thing. For one, her haircut was one he hasn't seen anywhere. It was rare enough to find a lass who had short hair covering their forehead. But then like her eyes, it was the color that got his attention. Again, he had seen different colors of hair, bit he had never seen any that had two different colors at once. Black turning to red at the tips.

She fits the description of _them_ too much. Way too much. The insignia on her shoulder, the cloak and the light scent of roses that he whiffed when she was leaning close enough. Those did not help disprove of the thought. If anything, he was starting to believe it more and more the longer he sticks to her.

But that was impossible. If what the Gardeners had said was true, then the last one to be seen disappeared over a thousand years ago. And if they were lying, then the last one disappeared over three thousand years ago. But most people doubt that they had even existed, and Yoren was one of these people. They were nothing more that myths, legends if you prefer. Just another bedtime tale of an impossibly powerful human. The stories about them were well-known to most, but the more detailed descriptions were rare to be passed around. In short, the more popular ones are on what they do, not what they appearance was like. No. Details about their looks were rarely known outside some small towns and they even vary. Some say they have hair redder than blood, and some would say it was darker than night. Probably highly exaggerated bullshit for a dramatic effect. But one detail remained the same, and was they had eyes of silver. That detail also sounded like a load of crap though. It's like they're trying to make a Northern version of an Targaryen with their silver hair and purple eyes.

 _Yet_ , here she was. . .

While he was trying to make sense of her. Ruby was also trying to make sense of Yoren. Well, not Yoren. The whole situation in general actually.

Soon, night was upon them. The stars revealed themselves in the sky, scattering like splattered paint on a dark canvas. Ruby took note of how they looked different from the cities and the more rural areas.

"Alright," Yoren finally broke the long silence, but this time, it wasn't an awkward one. "I think we ought to be off to sleep, we ahve a long day of travelling tomorrow."

He closed and tossed her container back to her.

"Right." Ruby nodded and quickly finished up what was left of the now cold sausage.

She stood up, picked up her bag and walked over to the opposite side of the fire. Removing the clipping of her cloak, she was a bit bummed that she hadn't brought her sleeping bag with her. It was impractical earlier, seeing as her mission was not far off Haven and she would've been back before sunset. She laid her cloak on the ground as a make shift sleeping mat and sat down on it, setting her bag between her crossed legs. She pulled the retracted Crescent Rose from behind her and set it to her side before unbuckling her belt. Mountain Glenn was a learning experience to not sleep with the holsters behind her. She crammed it into her bag before setting it on top of her sweetheart.

Finally free from the not-so-comfortable accessories, she laid down. Turning to her side, she saw that Yoren had also done so.

She rolled unto her back and just decided to watch the stars, which was probably one of the things that was still familiar to her. Whenever she woke up from one of her _'dreams'_ , she would sometimes not be able to sleep again. Sometimes she would polish her weapon to pass the time, other times she would write in her journal. And when she doesn't feel like getting up, she would think. Think about the situation. Think about the things that had happened and things that will happen, things that are happening. And while she was thinking, she would glance up in the sky to the stars. She would try to pretend to be floating in space with her thoughts, but these very thoughts are what brings her back to Remnant.

But even that was different. . .

The sky above her now is one that she can't even recognize. The stars were different, but the icing on top was the moon. The _non_ -shattered moon. It was whole above them. Whole and just so far away. Suddenly home also felt so much farther. Like the moon, it was out of her reach. Just when she got to where she needed to be, Ruby was hurled to who knows where.

 _Focus, Ruby!_ , she thought. _You don't know yet. Who knows? You might still be able to find a way home soon and go back._

'Might' was a key word.

She sighed, but then a thought came into mind, brought about with her previous thought on her sleepless nights.

 _The journal!_

Sitting up suddenly, she can feel Yoren's eyes on her, but she ignored him. She pulled out her belt at the very opening of the bag before pushing items around. _Oh, where is it? I'm pretty sure I hadn't taken it out._ She was originally going to leave it, seeing as there was no point since she was coming back later (if she wanted to write a reminder, she had her Scroll anyways), but she was pretty sure she forgot to take it out— _Aha!_

She immediately recognized the familiar red spine and pulled it out. Her hand has practically memorized the cover of it. Every dent on the edges, it's texture, the weight, nearly everything. Opening it, she was greeted a picture taped to the back of the cover. "New Friends" was written in red ink, a small heart drawn beside it. It was a picture of Team RWBY, in that respective order, except for Blake and Yang with Yang coming first. The photo itself was basically a carbon copy of the one that sat by her bedside table back at Patch. She wanted to be able to view it anytime, and not in her Scroll. It just felt different and more _real_ like this. But she wanted it to stay there, for both sentimental reasons and as a reminder for Yang that _this_ is her team, and that somehow and someway, they are still a team. Though for all Ruby knows, it may just serve as a reminder of what was and not anymore. But it's Yang we're talking about, and Ruby is willing to bet her own arm that her older sister would not stay down. She will get back up, stronger than she ever had.

Ruby flipped it to where a small ribbon held the page before realizing that she doesn't have a pen. She nearly scavenged the bag in a brief moment of panic before finding one resisting at the bottom. She breathed out in relief then turned back to her journal. There were just so much things that happened— No, technically not exactly a lot, but bizarre things do feel like 'more' than a load of normal things happening, and she doesn't know where to start. She better write this down so she would remember every detail to tell her sister. Yang loves adventure, she had always dreamed of having a life where you never knew what tomorrow would bring, and that was a good thing for her. With that in mind, an idea popped up. It had always been easier to write these things when she was writing them for someone.

So, she did.

Directing her pen at the top of the page, she scribbled.

 _Hey sis,_

 _I don't know when I'll get to send this letter, and I hope you got the last 's no post office nearby so you'll probably read it way later than I wrote this, but I'm writing this in my journal now while my memories are still fresh. You see a crazy thing happened today. . ._

After finishing up her letter with an ' _Forever your loving sister, Ruby'_ , she looked at it once over, a small smile creeping up to her face. _Wait 'till Yang reads this!_

Somehow, she felt as if her day was complete even though she was left with way more questions than answers, and that those answers just lead into more questions. But looking at the summary she wrote, made her feel a bit at ease. The feeling of completion gave Ruby an urge to hit the hay, and so she packed up her stuff again, picking up one or two objects that fell on the ground while she tossed the items around inside her bag buckled the straps back on the top then finally laid down again. Yoren had lost interest some time ago and is now softly snoozing with an occasional 'hic' then he would turn in his sleep.

Settling into a more comfortable position, she fell asleep, letting the wear of the day get to her. In contrast to other days, this was physically less tiring, but mentally was a whole different topic. So she let herself be taken to the world of dreams, knowing fully well that the pleasantries wouldn't last long until the recurring 'theme' comes back once more.

* * *

 **Author's Note:** Part 1 done! Finally. So, at this point Ruby starts to realize just how far 'home' actually is, and she deals with the more casual lewdness in Westeros. Also, about the hair. I realized how many, or how less, people that has bangs (Am I the only one that calls it that?) in Game of Thrones. Okay, so I think I got Yoren OOC and I'm feel like Ruby's turning into a Mary Sue (Help us all, I don't want that) so feel free to comment the 'what's and 'not's for improvement and editing (and to avoid the Mary Sue-situation). Anyways, hopefully I'll finish Part 2 up soon. Hope you enjoyed it! See ya'.


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